Center for the Defense of the Child and Adolescent of Ceará – Cedeca-CE
Education is Justice: guarantee of the rights to education in the juvenile detention system of Ceará
Ceará
Objetivos e público prioritário
Guarantee the right to education in the juvenile detention system in the state of Ceará.
Main activities
• A communications campaign called “Education is Justice” aimed at the Legislature and Rights Councils and the greater Ceará society with a focus on alternative media and public infrastructure;
• Mobilization of national and international organizations on the violation of the right to education for incarcerated adolescents;
• Elaboration of a resolution proposal regulating the right to scholastic education in juvenile detention units to be presented at the State Educational Council (CEE) and the State Council on Children and Adolescents’ Rights (CEDCA);
• Filing of a Public Civil Suit (ACP) before the Children and Youth Court.
About the organization
CEDECA Ceará is a non-governmental entity established to defend the rights of children and adolescents, especially when violated by the public authorities. It has been active since 1994 in the state of Ceará, intervening through three main strategies: defense of rights, social mobilization and diffusion of critical knowledge.
Results
The crisis of Ceará’s socio-educational system worsened and the year 2015 ended with 60 episodes of rebellion and riot. Already within the first four months of 2016 had the state reached the same number of conflicts. This demonstrates that, despite all the effort on the part of civil society, the scenario still presents complexities that require greater understanding and common action. Thereof Cedeca decided on the strategy to magnify the situation’s visibility to the public by nationalizing and internationalizing their denouncements. Among several actions, joint efforts and mobilizations, some of the highlights were the admission to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, them allowing a petition and conceding precautionary measures regarding Brazil for grave violations of adolescents’ rights in Ceará’s socio-educational system: a hearing with the Minister of Human Rights and the Federal Prosecutor for Citizens’ Rights; visits from the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda) and National Mechanism for the Prevention of and Fight against Torture (MNPCT). There were actions to mobilize taken together with civil society organizations; advocacy in media; advocacy at the the State Board of Education and the State Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents to guarantee the rights of adolescents deprived of their liberty, especially the right to education; the monitoring of the government budget set aside for socio-educational policies; and a campaign for the educational rights of youth offenders, countering proposals for measures repressing/criminalizing youth.
Funding Line
Strategic Litigation (2014)
Year
-
Total Granted
R$ 102,786.00
Duration
18 months
Main Themes
The rights of children and adolescents
